Tag Archives: patio remodel

Lifted Up – Conquering A Design Dilemma

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Rocket Lady

Single Story House. All one level. This was a non-negotiable when we were looking for a house. And 6 years ago, we found just what we were looking for. Almost…

Yes, the house is one level. But it sits about 4-1/2 feet higher than the street and driveway. This was fine when we first moved in, but as we thought about the future, we knew we’d need to address the accessibility issues.

So when the time came to begin planning out our remodel dreams, we made a list of our goals:
1. Maximize our view
2. Expand our outdoor living space
3. Add a garage at the front of the property – closer to the street
4. Make it wheelchair accessible

My brother-in-law Eric cruises in a wheelchair, and it was very important that we incorporate an accessible entry into the overall design. We worked very hard with our architect and contractor to find the right solution. Our first thought was to have a ramp going from the back of the new garage up to the new patio. But, to make it truly accessible, the ramp needed to follow a 1:12 slope. In other words, the ramp would need to be somewhere around 48′ long to rise 4 feet. I think it goes without saying…that’s a really long ramp. And it would dominate the patio – impacting our other design goals.

So we kept thinking. And researching. And then, I found it. The solution? …An elevator porch lift – a very simple motorized lift that is durable enough to be installed outside. All we needed was a concrete pad (about 4′ wide), right outside the back of the garage, that would lead to a landing up on the patio. We discussed this with the team, and they incorporated the elevator lift landing perfectly into the design of our new outdoor space.

The thing is, this type of equipment is not aesthetically pleasing. At all. In fact, I think they make accessibility equipment anti-aesthetically pleasing. It’s weird. And if you do find something that looks somewhat decent, well, that will be a markup of about 200%. The accessibility market has a long way to go!

Anyway, once the architectural design was done, the new patio poured, and the garage built, we went to work on the lift. Here’s a little insight into the whole process…

THE TWO ENTRANCES TO THE HOUSE…NOT EXACTLY ACCESSIBLE FOR SOMEONE IN A WHEELCHAIR:

        

BRAND NEW LIFTS RUN ABOUT $4000-$5000. I FOUND THIS ONE ON CRAIG’S LIST FOR $1200. WE CONFIRMED THAT IT WAS WORKING, BORROWED A PANEL VAN AND WENT TO SAN DIEGO TO PICK IT UP.

I DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT THEY ALL COME IN THIS UGLY STOCK OFF-WHITE COLOR. WE DECIDED TO HAVE OURS POWDER-COATED BLACK. WE FOUND AN AWESOME PLACE TO HANDLE THIS FOR US – CRISOL METAL FINISHING.
OF COURSE, BEING US, WE DIDN’T REALIZED THAT ALL OF THE MECHANICS OF THE LIFT WOULD HAVE TO BE REMOVED BEFORE IT WAS COATED. THE GUY’S AT CRISOL WERE AMAZING. THEY TOOK THE WHOLE THING APART AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER FOR US!

HERE WE ARE…LITERALLY JUST WATCHING THEM TAKE THE MOTOR APART. ‘HOPE WE CAN GET THIS THING BACK TOGETHER…’

A FEW DAY’S LATER, WE PICKED UP THE NEW MATTE BLACK LIFT…FULLY OPERATIONAL…PUT IT BACK IN THE PANEL VAN AND OFF TO OUR HOUSE WE WENT. IT WAS ACTUALLY FAIRLY LIGHT (ABOUT 300 LBS), BUT STILL IT TOOK THE HELP OF A COUPLE OF FRIENDS TO GET IT INTO THE RIGHT PLACE. WITH THE FINAL PIECES ALL IN PLACE AND PUT TOGETHER, IT WAS TIME TO GIVE IT A TEST RUN! THE DOGS DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO THINK ABOUT IT….

AFTER THE DOG’S INSPECTED THE LIFT, IT WAS TIME FOR THE GUEST OF HONOR. WE INVITED ERIC OVER TO GET HIS SEAL OF APPROVAL.

AND HERE’S OUR LITTLE INSTA-STORY VID OF ERIC’S INAUGURAL RUN: 

THE FINAL STEPS WERE TO ADD SOME GREENERY TO THE PLANTERS:

THE ONLY THING MISSING TO MAKE THIS A SAFE SITUATION IS A GATE AND A FENCE ON THE TOPSIDE OF THE PATIO…COMING SOON!

And there you have it! We are officially wheelchair accessible. And it looks good too! Makes my heart very happy.
Thanks for stopping by… if you would like to know more about our remodel – you can Read more about it here!


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We Built A New Garage

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Rocket Lady

We built a new garage. Sounds simple enough. Pour a slab. Build the frame. Electrical. Drywall. Roof. Door. Done….NOPE.

This was no easy task. Thank you city codes. Footers down into the bedrock – which happened to be about 7 feet below the ground. Retaining walls on two sides.

Also…the structure couldn’t be within 10′ of our existing house – or it would have to be attached. The two possible places to attach the new garage would either block our view (not gonna happen), or in the place that our septic tank currently occupies…meaning, we would have to move our septic tank (again, not gonna happen). So…unattached garage it is.

And then, it had to be no closer than 5 feet to the side property line, and 20 feet from the street property line. Lastly, it could not be over 12 feet high – we are all very serious about our views in this town!

With all of these measurements in mind, there was only one place the garage could go – with literally 1″ wiggle room and it was destined to be a 20×21 two-car space.  Thank you to CK Architecture and Made By Render for figuring this business out!

Here’s a little reference on the plans for the new garage:

And this was from demo day 1. The new garage sits right in this space:

And here is a little reminder of what came next…digging for the footers:

Concrete Poured footers here along with the frame for the concrete retaining walls: 

Walls poured:

And finally…a slab!

Next, it was time to frame and pour the new entry steps: 

It was about this time that we high-tailed it out of town. And we missed getting pictures of the framing. SO, smash cut to:

And…!

Electrical – done.  Now for drywall: And then…the standing seam roof. Yes please!

Fine-tuning the electrical and paint. Reference: we used Cabot stain and matched Clark + Kensington’s Black Chiffon  :

Final touch…the garage door. We went with a panel glass door, opaque so you can’t see it at night but not green during the day. And it is the quietest door ever. SO happy with it: 

And this was the finished product. New garage for us! 

Here’s and this is how it looks now. Curb appeal here we come!

 

Thanks for following along. More details to come next week.
Follow along on our entire house remodel here. 


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We Poured A Lot Of Concrete

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Rocket Lady

This was our view last August. A patio form…waiting for its substance to fill it all in.

Our crew from D&S Construction were awesome. Seriously – a great crew of people makes the disruption of a remodel so. much. better!!!

And finally…the first concrete pour began!
All hands were on deck to control the amount of concrete in each area and to smooth it down with an even finish. I’m not sure exactly how much concrete was poured, but in the end, there were 5 different pours to make this project happen. And suffice to say, it was a lot of concrete. This was pour #1:

We wanted the appearance of a light acid wash on our patio – and to do that we had to slightly expose the aggregate by spraying a chemical surface retarder (the blue stuff) onto the slab surface immediately after placing and finishing the concrete. This delays the set and gives the crew the flexibility to remove the cement paste up to a day or so later, by pressure washing.

And here is our first look at our new patio – which now sits level with the house floor and is about 4 feet higher than our old patio. View maximizer!

This was the point when we felt the genius behind the design of this patio. Thanks CK Architecture and Made By Render! The dogs were a little tentative at first, but they’re definitely getting used to all of the steps.
Sweet Lyle is checking it all out.

So stay tuned…there’s more to come…next week I’ll post some info about the new garage.
Follow along on our entire house remodel here. 


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Getting Unstuck.

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Rocket Lady

In general, I’m pretty good at initiating projects, planning and projecting schedules, and following them through to their glorious completion. Project management brings me great joy. Or maybe I should say, finishing projects brings me great joy. And satisfaction. And self-worth. And peace.

So last year, when we stalled out on like 15 different projects, I was upended into foreign and treacherous territory. Burnout territory.

We all know the perils of burnout. We hear about how bad it can be. We listen to podcasts and read blogs about warning signs of it and how-to avoid it – complete with methods to overcoming it. But still, so many of us fall victim to it.

For me, there is something about finishing projects, completing tasks, overcoming milestones, that maintains my self-esteem and sense of self-worth. When I boil it down to basics, I simply feel at ease once I’ve accomplished something. I can rest at the end of each day, knowing that my checklists are complete. But left to my own devices, I tend to take on too much. “Think of how awesome it will feel to get every thing done!” So I add more and more…and more to the plan – until finally, boom, insert some unforeseen circumstance, and all of a sudden, everything comes to a full stop.

And that is when I want to lose my mind. I cannot handle being stuck. I need progress.

This is the point in the post that I want to pause and fully explain all of the projects, their status, and why we stalled out.  Suffice to say, we had just completed a major section of our  patio – yard – house remodel, and our contractor went m.i.a.  Literally he just vanished. I tried to re-inspire him to finish our project, but he didn’t respond. No replies. No explanations. I was stuck. And so it stopped.

For about 4 months. The projects. They all stopped.

To clarify…they all stopped, but I didn’t stop. I wish I could say that I took the time to rest. Relax. Enjoy the progress we’d made thus far.  Nope. I spent hours, and days and weeks looking for a new contractor, I researched how to finish certain things on my own, I googled metal fabricators, fence builders, elevator lift vendors, I called friends for recommendations on landscapers, powder coating shops, vent covers. e.t.c.!

I was determined. I had vision. I had a new day planner.

And sure enough. The wheels started slowly turning…like when a train begins to move from a dead stop. Very slow at first, one project started getting some traction. A landscape contractor, who went to my alma mater Cal Poly, signed on to the project (Go Mustangs!), and I started getting clarity on the finishing touches that would bring our projects to life.

I’m happy to say, that some how, it was probably the day planner, I stayed focused and got unstuck. And one by one, our projects are getting finished. And I’m ready to bring you along and show you what we’ve done!  One day, I’ll follow up with some learnings on burnout and rest. But for now…get a good planner, stay focused. That’s my learning!

Next week. The Garage. Stay tuned.

 


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How To Build A Patio In California

Posted on August 2, 2017 by Rocket Lady

How to build a patio in California…?

I’ll cut to the chase, after getting past the city requirements, I thought we were talking about a cement truck backing into our yard and dumping out the concrete ready to be shaped into place. I mean how hard can it be? Everyone has a patio.

But it turns out, at our house, it first involves about 6 weeks of digging.  Digging with tractors, digging with jack hammers, and lot’s of digging with pick axes. Digging to that point where you can’t see the top of the digger’s head because he’s digging so deep.

We expressed to a few people, one of which was our handy contractor, that, had we known about all of the digging, and the city requirements for a patio build, we would’ve probably put in a pool. Mr. Contractor explained that yes, a pool would’ve actually been easier and cheaper…that here on the coastal side of California, they like to dig those patio footers down to about middle-earth, ensuring that even an act of God couldn’t move that concrete.

Well despite that bit of not-so-helpful-after-the-fact information, we’re keeping our eye on the prize. At the end of this, we will have a beautiful indoor-outdoor living space. And in the meantime, we live in the sheer exhilaration and terror of the crew coming each day to demo and dig…all getting us one step closer to the build.

Here’s a little review of the last six weeks…

WEEK ONE:  Well, to start, I missed the very first strike of demo day: 

And then, they were off and sprinting…
BTW-Week One consisted of only two days, because they started on a Thursday. If only I could accomplish this much in two days: 

END OF WEEK TWO: So, we high-tailed it out of town for a week. When we returned and pulled in to our “driveway”, this is what we saw:

WEEK THREE: The crew came back after the 4th of July holiday, and actually started framing out the planters that will be in the patio. Yay for building stuff! 

Don’t be confused though, they’re still digging over on this side…

END OF WEEK FOUR: just some refinement digging…

Now to be honest, I’m not sure what happened in Week’s Five and Six. There were little structures built to hold dirt in and mark where the garage will be. The trenches were dug deeper. And there was lot’s of rebar being bent into shapes.  Oh…and there was this thing that happened with our septic tank – but that’s another story for another day (and not in a blog post).

Anyway, all of this was getting us ready to have our first inspection – which is happening today!
So, enjoy our current view as we wait: 

If our inspector is happy, there will be a cement truck here by the end of this week, pouring the footings for the planters. As explained by Mr. Contractor, this will be the first of probably 4 different concrete pours in the process.

Really…you can’t just back the truck in and dump a whole bunch of concrete down??? *sigh*

So stay tuned…more to come. And hopefully we’ll find out what is going to happen with all of that dirt!?!
Follow along on our entire house remodel here. 

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And Over Here In Project Planning Land …

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Rocket Lady

The first quarter of 2017 is such a blur.
But I gotta say, it was (and continues to be) a productive and rather focused season in the studio. We’re gearing up to release loads of new music with a bunch of fantastically talented artists – and we’re excited to share!!

Meanwhile, as Bobby’s been holed up at CatBeach – doing his thing, I’ve been in project planning mode (one of my favorite places to be). I’m still working on initial details on a bunch of plans, but I just can’t wait to get started…so, I thought I’d give a few sneaks…1) First up is this super fun shipping container retrofit that we’re installing on the side of our house, overlooking a huge canyon and the LA city lights. The container will be a multi-use space primarily focused as a writing room, complete with a set up to record vocals. Bobby and our friend Craig, of Rook and Render, dreamt up this whole thing last year. And I laughed. These two have LOT’S of ideas and this was just one that I figured would come and go. And then, I received this little mock-up. And I knew…this thing is happening. And now, here we are…fine-tuning some details and hopefully placing an order for a new shipping container this week!

 

2) Behind the scenes, I am working on a little re-branding of Catbeach Music. We love our hand drawings of Bobby and some of his gear, which is the mark in our logo, but we’re looking to freshen it up a bit with new lettering and color palette. And I’ve got a new website and catalog database in the works as well. I just love the way these little details can come together to launch our business to the next level.

 

3) If you’ve been following along here on Records, Rockets and Rosemary, you know that we’ve been working on a house remodel for a few years, which started with a dream to create an indoor-outdoor living space. This project got stuck in the city planning department, so we put it on hold for about a year. But our plans are back at the city, complete with a new drainage plan for the entire property. We’re hoping to break ground with a two-week demo schedule starting in May.

 

4) And lastly, I’m learning all about designing rooms for accessibility – making spaces comfortable and useable for everyone. “The Accessible Home” by Deborah Pierce is a great resource.  We’re looking at ways to make my brother-in-law’s home a better fit for his lifestyle. We just installed this elevator lift and we have plans to modernize his bathrooms and kitchen. So fun!!

I’m just getting started on all of these projects. I’ll post details along the way, so follow here and let me know if you have any questions about the planning, process, or vendors!


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